Not only functional, but also absolutely sustainable. The outdoor clothing of the future comes full circle with recyclable Sympatex® membranes
“We love polyester because it allows thermoforming and bonding and greatly facilitates the assembly of the final product, avoiding traditional stitching and taping. We love polyester because it is the easiest material to recycle and it is everywhere.” On the basis of these statements, Sympatex Technologies has been creating membranes and laminates since 1986 with a strong focus on the use and transformation of polyester in a technological and sustainable way. The German company is synonymous worldwide with high-tech materials for clothing, footwear, accessories and technical applications. With selected international partners, the premium brand develops, produces and markets membranes, laminates, functional fabrics and finished products.
Sympatex® is the brand name under which laminated fabrics are distributed, characterised by excellent waterproofing, windproofing and thermo-regulating capacities, and by excellent breathability thanks to a membrane that promotes the transit of body transpiration while contrasting the entry of external liquids. Designed to offer optimal comfort in all weather conditions and activities, the Sympatex® membrane represents a benchmark in terms of performance for the sports and outdoor textile industry, as well as for uniforms and workwear. Sympatex® is a non-porous membrane made up of billions of hydrophilic molecules that uses a physico-chemical process to develop breathability that increases proportionally with higher activity, ensuring that the body always stays dry, even in extreme situations. Not only that, the membrane also provides effective rain and wind protection according to DIN EN ISO 9237.
Unlike conventional microporous structures, the Sympatex® membrane continues to function fully even after repeated washing, as the pores are not clogged by surface-active agents.
Durable and wear-resistant, the Sympatex® membrane is also and above all environmentally friendly and recyclable. Environmental awareness and ecological responsibility are in fact among the core objectives of Sympatex Technologies.
The transition from a linear economy to a more circular economy, where the value of products, materials and resources is maintained for as long as possible and waste generation is minimised. This is an indispensable step to avoid paying the price for decades of ignorance and passivity on the recycling front by 2050, when the amount of plastic in the oceans will be estimated to be greater than the amount of fish by weight. In short, if the transition to a circular economy is to be guaranteed, plastic recycling must be increased: Sympatex Technologies has taken up the challenge not to follow a trend, but to give a strong signal of sensitivity to the problem, playing its part in the care of a common good, our Planet. Once the end-of-life is reached, billions of garments and pairs of shoes produced each year represent one of the future sources of raw material for Sympatex Technologies. The company produces functional fabrics, membranes and laminates using mainly recycled and in turn recyclable monomaterials. The clear focus on recycled and recyclable raw materials translates into the desire to close the textile cycle by no longer sourcing virgin materials from the oil industry in the future.
The Sympatex® membrane consists of polyether ester, a chain of polyester and polyether molecules that is harmless to health and therefore completely environmentally friendly. To make the new laminates, the company uses polyester fibres obtained from recycled PET bottles. Bluesign® and GRS-Global Recycle Standard certifications guarantee that at least 40-50% of this product is derived from the reclaiming of previously used plastic material. Sympatex Technologies has calculated that using these materials saves in terms of water consumption, energy and carbon footprint compared to processing virgin polyester. Furthermore, Sympatex® materials are 100% recyclable at the end of their life.
Sympatex® laminates meet the requirements of Oeko-Tex® Standard 100, the best-known and most established voluntary ecolabel for textile products. Furthermore, contrary to many direct competitors, they do not contain, PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) and perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), the processing, landfilling and incineration of which can release compounds considered ecologically problematic. In order to eliminate all contributions to global warming, as of 2017 Sympatex Technologies has also started offsetting the amount of CO of its entire annual membrane technologies and production processes of the Sympatex® membrane are based on the principle of environmental sustainability, paying particular attention to the use of raw materials. Its use presupposes an assumption of responsibility designed to generate new sustainable competitive advantages, thereby becoming the success factor of the future. The group PIDIGI, based in Verona, is the Italian distributor for Sympatex in the footwear sector (pidigi.it).
PTFE- and PFAS-free Sympatex membrane
The Sympatex membrane is PFAS-free and therefore PTFE-free. PFAS are a class of compounds classified by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), among others, as being of extremely high health and environmental concern. PFAS are not found in nature. Once produced, they remain in our ecosystem as permanent, non-degradable, are undoubtedly suspected of causing significant health damage such as cancer, miscarriages, neonatal malformations, reduced vaccination efficacy and weakening of the immune system.
Instead of these extremely hazardous chemicals often used in other membranes, polyether/ester, a combination of polyester and polyether molecules, is used for the Sympatex membrane. This composition is therefore environmentally and health-friendly and can be recycled just like a PET bottle. Moreover, compared to other membranes, the performance is comparable in terms of windproof effectiveness, breathability and waterproofness.